"I was listening to David Axelrod a lot, and I literally started singing the vocal line over one of his songs, ‘Little Girl Lost’. I did the demo of it for James, he sent it off to [Richard] Hawley and he kept the vocal line, he said, 'I love those words Nicky.' James knew him from when we did Shirley Bassey, and James loves him anyway, they get on really well. We just wanted something deep, very Scott Walker and cinematic, a bit of Johnny Cash. We’ve been lucky to do some great duets, and it’s definitely one of the best. He kind of quivers - without being overbearing he controls the song, and that’s a really hard trick. It’s a tiny bit heartbreaking, that song - 'I want to be small, lying in my mother's arms.' It’s saying, 'I’d like to do it all again.' It’s not about changing stuff because it’s been fucking brilliant. That’s hard to put into a lyric. I loved growing up, I loved being a kid, I love my Mum and Dad and my brother, and then I loved being in a band, and doing education in between. Being very blessed in a very simple way - there’s no extravagances in those years." It’s about realising it’s fucking over, and that’s what permeates the sadness. I think Postcards was nostalgic, it was one last 'C’mon! We can fucking do it! We are Queen!' This album is more, 'I can’t fucking star jump without my arthritic knee packing up and my back packing in.' It’s about having a migraine if I read too much because my eyes are shit. A lot of the stuff that has fuelled me is just no longer applicable. It’s difficult to put that into a commercial album."
"I was listening to David Axelrod a lot, and I literally started singing the vocal line over one of his songs, ‘Little Girl Lost’. I did the demo of it for James, he sent it off to [Richard] Hawley and he kept the vocal line, he said, 'I love those words Nicky.' James knew him from when we did Shirley Bassey, and James loves him anyway, they get on really well. We just wanted something deep, very Scott Walker and cinematic, a bit of Johnny Cash. We’ve been lucky to do some great duets, and it’s definitely one of the best. He kind of quivers - without being overbearing he controls the song, and that’s a really hard trick. It’s a tiny bit heartbreaking, that song - 'I want to be small, lying in my mother's arms.' It’s saying, 'I’d like to do it all again.' It’s not about changing stuff because it’s been fucking brilliant. That’s hard to put into a lyric. I loved growing up, I loved being a kid, I love my Mum and Dad and my brother, and then I loved being in a band, and doing education in between. Being very blessed in a very simple way - there’s no extravagances in those years." It’s about realising it’s fucking over, and that’s what permeates the sadness. I think Postcards was nostalgic, it was one last 'C’mon! We can fucking do it! We are Queen!' This album is more, 'I can’t fucking star jump without my arthritic knee packing up and my back packing in.' It’s about having a migraine if I read too much because my eyes are shit. A lot of the stuff that has fuelled me is just no longer applicable. It’s difficult to put that into a commercial album."
-Nicky Wire